Thanks for the memories, Mr. Hagman, on screen and off

I’ve horsed around with him at parties, rocked with laughter at his salty quips, and enjoyed the holy heck out of his portrayal of J.R. Ewing on both the old and the new “Dallas.”

Yes, Larry Hagman may have played one of the most infamous foes of prime-time television, but Friday, it felt like an old Texas friend had passed.

The news hit hard: The Fort Worth-born actor, who resurrected villainous Dallas oilman J.R. Ewing (see pic above with Josh Henderson) with wicked panache in TNT’s summer continuation of the series, had died from complications from cancer. He was 81.

It seemed fitting that his closest “Dallas” pals, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray, were at his side in Memorial City Dallas Hospital.

Gray, who played J.R.’s long-suffering wife Sue Ellen in the original series and his politically savvy ex in TNT’s revival, told us at a January press session that she was thrilled to work again with Hagman, one of “my dearest, dearest friends.”

“This is a secret,” Gray said, “but the original show should have been a sitcom because I laughed every single day that we were on the set, the original set, and nothing has changed, nothing.”

Hagman sure kept us giggling at that same press session. Though 80 and battling cancer, the actor was as feisty with a one-liner as ever before, ribbing Duffy, teasing Gray and saying how excited he was to play J.R. again. He assured us he felt “great,” thanks to a vegetarian diet of kale, spinach and cucumber drinks that Gray put him on, and would be giving his all to the role.

He certainly didn’t disappoint, making us cringe at every turn with J.R.’s dastardly behavior toward everyone from his brother Bobby to his son, John Ross (Henderson).

And we’ll be treated to more of him in the second season, which starts in January. According to producers, Hagman already had filmed six of the 15 upcoming episodes.

However, it wasn’t just what he has given us on-screen — from “I Dream of Jeannie” to “Dallas” — that makes him so dear to me and many of my fellow TV critics.

In this day of guarded celebrities and nearly extinct spontaneity, Hagman was a rarity: accessible, genuine and refreshingly playful.

Whether he was sharing a colorful anecdote, wielding a portable fan at press dinners to illustrate how much he abhorred cigarette smoke, or hosting a wild party for critics at his own Malibu beach house, he consistently provided us with something fun and naughty to write about.